A little girl is going to the beach for the first time with her family and she is trying to imagine what it will look like. The trip to the beach takes several days and the journey is full of experiences and special moments, which influence her imagination. When the family finally arrives at the beach, nothing has prepared the girl for what she eventually sees.

Lily, the young hippopotamus, is a little too lively for her family and friends. But then, a new teacher comes to school. The animals in this picture book behave and react just like people we have met.

Roddy and his dog, Banana, are the best of friends, They play together, rest together and sleep together. What do Roddy and his parents do when they return home to find a hole under the back fence and no Banana.

Piggy loves books so much that he never has time for friends. But one day Piggy sees a cat reading alone. And he wonders if, perhaps, they could be best friends. Try as Piggy might- in increasingly spectacular ways- the cat just won't notice him. Piggy just wants to let her know just how he feels.

ISBN 9781681190655

Publisher Bloomsbury, 2016

Lai, Trevor

2264

When we go walkabout

When we go walkabout, what do we see. Yirruwa yirrilikenuma-langwa, amiyembena yirringka yirruwa.

An eventful trip to the vet turns out to be lots of fun, especially if you like baby kittens.

ISBN 9780734407313

Publisher Thomas C Lothian Pty Ltd, 2004

Lamb, Ann

3613

Red balloon, The

A classic story of Pascal, an only child who is lonely. When he finds a red balloon with a mind of its own, Pascal's life changes.

ISBN 9780385142977

Publisher Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc, 1956

Lamorisse, Albert

34345

Mary's penny: a wise and witty tale

This is a story of one farmer, his three children, Franz, Hans and Mary, and an ingenious competition to determine who should inherit the farm. The farmer's children are asked to fill the house with something that costs a mere penny.

ISBN 9781406330779

Publisher Walker Books, 2011

Landman, Tanya & Holland, Richard (ill)

6599

First shapes in buildings

Features twelve buildings from around the world to show two and three-dimensional shapes such as the circle, square, rectangle, cube, pyramid and cylinder. This inventive book provides an introduction to finding shapes in real-life buildings and will inspire children to appreciate some of the world's great buildings.

A cheerful rhyme about preparing, decorating and delivering a huge birthday cake.

ISBN 9781904442691

Publisher The Chicken House, 2005

Langley, Jonathan

74031

Dragon's lie, The

A small boy is surprised to find a dragon in a cage at the zoo. He wonders why this once powerful, fire breathing creature is lying miserably in a cage. He discovers that it's not just bars that limit freedom. Manga style.

A little penguin doesn't have any friends because he is different. Unlike the other penguins, he is black all over without a patch of white on his chest. But, when he decides to leave his home, he sees there are other creatures that are different too.

Meet Chimaka, one of a colony of chimps at Ngamba Island Chimp Sanctuary which provides a home for orphaned chimpanzees. Stunning photographs show where he lives, his family and how he spends his day. Discover what you can do to help protect endangered chimpanzees.

ISBN 9780975677063

Series
True to life series
(13 books)

Publisher True to Life books, 2007

Latta, Jan

15284

Adventures with Chipper the cheetah

Chipper, the cheetah, tells the young reader all about cheetahs - their history, habitat, behaviours and appearance. Spectacular photographs, facts and interesting websites.

Factual series for K-2 readers. Any two titles read from this series can be included as official Challenge books; up to five more titles can be included as your personal choice books. To see the individual book titles and their PRC ID numbers, go to the Series lists on the Booklists page on the website. Or, you can search for a series name or the individual titles by using the Search function on the top left hand corner of the screen.

On a walk with her father, a little girl collects wild flowers while her distracted Dad pays her and their surroundings little attention. Each flower becomes a gift and both giver and receiver are transformed by their encounter. Wordless picture book.

ISBN 9781406362084

Publisher Walker Books, 2015

Lawson, JonArno & Smith, Sydney (ill)

4607

Three emus, The

The emu sisters are happy to live among the mulgas and spinifex of the outback. But when Flick loses her precious shell, they must embark on a journey that sees them travel across the vast Australian landscape. Will they ever rescue Flick's shell from the Swedish traveller's backpack?

Bartholomew is a bear up in the mountains who admires the city lights far below. He meets a bug who desperately needs the lights so Bartholomew sets out to take his friend there.

ISBN 9780340873298

Publisher Hodder Children's Books (Australia), 2004

Layton, Neal

12844

Steve's Sunday blues

There are so many things that are good about Sundays - walking the dog, splashing through puddles, eating yummy food. Even with all these good things happening, Steve has the Sunday blues.

ISBN 9780340797228

Publisher Hodder Children's Books (Australia), 2002

Layton, Neal

2762

Tree, The

The tree is home to a family of birds in their nest, squirrels in their drey and rabbits in their burrow. When a man and woman decide to cut the tree down and use it for their dream house, the animals are under threat.

Pog is a warty, bug-eyed monster who is terrified of children. One day, he comes face to face with his worst nightmare. An engaging twist to the story of a child who is about to start school and is still scared of monsters.

After arguing with his best friend about which game to play, a boy decides its time to find a new best friend. So he tries to become friends with his dog, his cat, and his goldfish. He learns to eat on the floor with his dog, take naps with his cat, and watch the world from underwater with his goldfish.

ISBN 9781512426014

Publisher Lerner Publishing Group, 2018

Lee, Mark & Jevons, Chris (ill)

5595

Nature's lullaby fills the night

Spiders spin their silky treads to the tune of raindrops, and crickets put on a chirping concert. Flower petals curl up for the night as willow branches dance in the breeze. Sleepy little fishes swim through starlit waters, and a stately stallion nuzzles its yearlings by its side. From land, to sky, to sea...this is how nature wishes you goodnight.

ISBN 9781454921394

Publisher Sterling Publishing Co, 2018

Leone, Dee & Engel, Bali (ill)

14391

Celeste sails to Spain

Celeste and her family members have different experiences while going to the museum, to the park, to the show, celebrating and dreaming.

Two children imagine places and picture all the animals they would meet there. Some of the imaginary places include being deep in the jungle, under the sea, in a land of ice and snow, among steaming swamps and marshes.

At Grandma's house, Anna and Luis always sleep in Isabella's bed. It has interesting, silver pieces on the bed-head but the middle piece has disappeared. One night, Anna and Luis go on a magical journey and discover what the pieces mean and why the middle one is missing.

On Magic Beach, children do all their favourite things, jumping waves, building sandcastles, beachcombing, exploring rock-pools and enjoying a fantasy world of white horses, dragons, pirates, sharks and smugglers.

Seven children each behave in a unique way. They have seven different secrets and fears. Different things make them laugh and each child has a special way to earn pocket money and to send messages. Each child gets to be a star.

Here is the story of a very noisy baby. She could bellow like a buffalo and roar like a lion. And howl like a wolf for a very long time. The baby loves to make all kinds of sounds. She's really very loud. But when some animals in the town go missing, can the very noisy baby help?

Follow seven children as they grow up from tiny babies to age seven, with a different event to highlight each year. There's the year when Nicky tipped spaghetti on her head and, another, when Ernie climbed into the fish tank.

Any two titles read from this series can be included as official Challenge books; up to five more titles can be included as your personal choice books. To see the individual book titles and their PRC ID numbers, go to the Series lists on the Booklists page on the website. Or, you can search for a series name or the individual titles by using the Search function on the top left hand corner of the screen.

Series
Little Red Ute series
(4 books)

Lewis, Mitch & Ziersch, Nahum (ill)

8660

Little Red Ute visits the farm

Red Ute and his friend Green Wheelbarrow take a tour of the farm. But, soon, Red Ute has to race to the rescue.

A window has been left open at the library and this is an irresistible invitation for a colony of bats. Once inside, older bats look for favourite books, while younger ones explore and play. Storytime settles everyone down and transports them into the tales, filled with bat characters playing new roles.

ISBN 9780864618160

Publisher Koala Books, 2009

Lies, Brian

3793

Have you seen my dragon

A young boy has lost his dragon. In the big, busy city, among the taxis and towers, the dragon must be somewhere. So the boy goes looking for one dragon. Perhaps it stopped for a hot dog (the boy has two of them) or rode into town on the bus (the boy sees three of these). And so the story goes. At each stop along the boy's search, the numbers grow from one to twenty.

A retelling of the classic tale of an enterprising cat who wins riches and fame for her poor master.

ISBN 9780810943681

Publisher Harry N Abrams Inc, 2002

Light, Steve (retell)

29979

Homer the library cat

Homer is a very quiet cat. He lives in a very quiet house with a very quiet lady. One day, while the lady is away, Homer hears a very loud crash and out the window he goes. He takes an unexpected tour of the neighbourhood and discovers it's a surprisingly hectic place. Poor Homer just wants to find a spot where he can curl up, undisturbed.

ISBN 9781406336566

Publisher Walker Books, 2011

Lindbergh, Reeve & Wilsdorf, Anne (ill)

79261

Max's bath

Max loves his bath and playing with all his toys but Dog is not keen to join him.

ISBN 9781877467042

Publisher Gecko Press, 2008

Lindgren, Barbro & Eriksson, Eva (ill)

49038

Max's wagon

Max takes teddy and Dog and all his toys on a wagon ride. Dog is good at finding lost things, all except for this one.

ISBN 9781877467035

Publisher Gecko Press, 2008

Lindgren, Barbro & Eriksson, Eva (ill)

90749

In the deep blue sea

Find out who lives in the deep, blue ocean. A celebration of ocean life with a few surprises along the way.

When Kaitie was four years old, she travelled with her mother to Uganda, where her mum was to study chimpanzees. One day, a two-week old orphaned red-tailed monkey was bought to their sanctuary. As the adults were all busy working with other chimps, Kaitie was placed in charge of caring for the tiny monkey.

ISBN 9781742030906

Publisher Black Dog Books, 2009

Litchfield, Katie Afrika

5292

Norton and alpha

Battered wheels, rusty cogs, broken springs - Norton and Alpha find them all and always find a use for them. Then, one ordinary Tuesday, they find something completely unlike anything they've ever found before. What is IT? And what does IT do?

"Hoo hoo" Bird has lost her stripy chick! Ziggy the zebra wants to help, but with stripy flowers, feathers and fur everywhere they look, it's not easy. How will they find the chick and get home in time for the Moonlight Show?

ISBN 9781471145797

Publisher Simon & Schuster, 2018

Litten, Kristyna

15338

Once upon a golden apple

Daddy tries out all sorts of alternative storylines in his fairytale but the children object to all but the most predictable. Delightfully, the story is even more important than the food.

Firechief Rhino and his men answer a fire call and, by mistake, put out Great Granny Wrinkles' one hundred birthday candles. However, because Granny's teeth are not so good anymore,she is quite happy with the soggy cake. It turns out to be the most super-sizzling party ever.

ISBN 9781846169410

Publisher Orchard Books, 2008

Lloyd, Sam

2879

Mr Pusskins

From the moment Mr Pusskins spies the prize for Best In Show, he is smitten. He just has to get his paws on that trophy and nothing is going to stand in his way, not even that mean, double-crossing poodle, Madame Fifi Foo-Foo.

ISBN 9781846165245

Publisher Orchard Books, 2008

Lloyd, Sam

5139

Mr Pusskins and Little Whiskers

What is the fabulous surprise for Mr Pusskins? The hideous noise that was the reason for Mr Pusskins being put outside, may not have been made by him.

ISBN 9781846165238

Publisher Orchard Books, 2007

Lloyd, Sam

4832

His Royal Tinyness

Once upon a time there was a happy family. Then, one horrible, no good day, a new ruler was born...behold! His Royal Highness, King Baby!

ISBN 9781406324662

Publisher Walker Books, 2017

Lloyd-Jones, Sally & Roberts, David (ill)

2880

Mate and me

Two families have moved in, one upstairs and one downstairs.The boy from upstairs plays in the yard but he is shy and doesn't join in my games. The family downstairs is a secret family and no one knows where they came from. When the downstairs family disappears, a strange note is found and a trail of silver treasures leads out of the garage.

Written in verse, this is a beautiful story of a boy who meets a strange bird on a beach. They share a common fear of life and are challenged by a colourful, charismatic fish who invites them to dive headlong into the unknown.

based on a story of the jaru people. In the dreaming, there was a shade tree in the middle of the desert. The animals went hunting for themselves and their babies but they only gave the echidna the scraps. When he gets angry and attacks the shade tree, the other animals must do something.

From the Larrakia and Waigite language groups. One of a series of Aboriginal stories about animals and birds. The kangaroo asks the porpoise to mind her baby. When the porpoise won't give the baby back, a fight ensues with interesting results.

Roles are reversed when mummy falls asleep while reading a story and her little girls put her into bed.

ISBN 9780868966267

Publisher Scholastic Australia, 1990

Loh, Morag

28006

Jasper juggles jellyfish

An octopus called Jasper gives up on learning the basics at school to pursue something he thinks will be more fun. He soon finds that even fun things can be difficult to learn. But luckily, a smack of jolly jellyfish are there to help him every step of the way. How many jellyfish do you think Jasper will be able to juggle by the end? Count along! Maybe he will end up learning the basics without even knowing it.

ISBN 9781925736038

Publisher Ford Street Publishing, 2018

Long, Ben & Cornish, David

32282

Ready, steady, hatch!

Ten chicks are excited to discover the world outside their eggshells, but the smallest is soon separated from the rest. Where can she be?

ISBN 9781925272536

Publisher Ford Street Publishing, 2017

Long, Ben & Cornish, David (ill)

37979

Little tree

In the middle of a little forest lives a Little Tree who loves the splendid leaves that keep him cool in the heat of long summer days. When Autumn arrives, the other trees drop their leaves, facing the cold winter head on. But, year after year, Little Tree hugs his leaves as tightly as he can, although they are now brown and withered. As Little Tree sits in the shadow of the other trees, he remembers when they were all the same size. He knows he has an important decision to make.

ISBN 9780399163975

Publisher Philomel Books, 2015

Long, Loren

12247

How I became a pirate

Jeremy Jacob joins Braid Beard and his pirate crew and finds out about pirate language, pirate manners and other aspects of their life.

ISBN 9780152018481

Publisher Harcourt Children's Books, 2003

Long, Melinda & Shannon, David (ill)

8081

Clementine

Once there was a little snail who loved everything round, hoops and wheels and balls and balloons and, most of all, the moon. She longed to glide gently over the moon's surface, around and around and around. And, so, she made a daring decision, she'd find a way to fly to the moon.

ISBN 9780735840096

Publisher North South Books, 2011

Loth, Sebastian

29828

Archie and the Bear

Archie has something to say, but no one is listening. So Archie leaves home... and discovers someone else with something to say. And because they both know how that feels, they both listen.This is a quirky story about being who you are (even when you're not).

Any two titles read from this series can be included as official Challenge books; up to five more titles can be included as your personal choice books. To see the individual book titles and their PRC ID numbers, go to the Series lists on the Booklists page on the website. Or, you can search for a series name or the individual titles by using the Search function on the top left hand corner of the screen.

Series
The invisible tree series
(5 books)

Lowe, Kirrily & Smith, Henry (ill)

8729

Ruthie Bon Bair, do not go to bed with wringing wet hair

The hilarious story of a girl with thick hair that took too long to dry.

ISBN 9780810954700

Publisher Harry N Abrams Inc, 2006

Lubner, Susan & Whatley, Bruce (ill)

32284

Olivia's voice

Listen. Silence. Love, words, friendship and colour need no sound. My name is Olivia and this is my world.

Even very small children have to face big worries. When mum doesn't arrive to pick her up from school, this little girl faces those worries and carefully thinks about the right thing to do. She knows it is important not to panic and that worries can be forced to back down if you face them. Some devilish worries swirl around the familiar scenes on these beautifully illustrated pages.